2012 will be a watermark year for the movie business but this week looks a lot like the 1990s and presented some problems for TheOneRing.net’s Film Friday. I didn’t want to watch “Titanic,” or “American Reunion,” which are likely this week’s biggest new releases. In each case, I feel like I have been there before.
I have been much more interested this week in a discussion with some Facebook friends about which films will rule the 2012 box office numbers. “The Hunger Games,” is proving to be a powerful financial force. Some of these friends are fans of “The Hobbit,” but don’t think the film can win the finally tally for the year’s biggest moneymaker. I disagree. (Oh and while we are talking about the film, any media member who writes that it is a prequel is lazy, inaccurate and deserves a gentle kick in the shins. The story stands alone, came first and is so much more than just a lead-up to LOTR.)
While studios care deeply about the financial returns, fans are a lot more interested in art and a thrill at the movies. Still, there is some fun in watching the box office derby and it seems like a dozen websites have sprung up devoted to doing just that.
Rumors are flying as far as the Great Eagle’s sight that our newest wizard, Radagast the Brown, will have a more prominent role in the first installment of THE HOBBIT: ‘An Unexpected Journey.’ I am very excited by what Sylvester McCoy may bring to the role. The rumors are strongly suggesting Radagast’s rustic home on the eaves of Mirkwood Forest — Rhosgobel — will be more heavily featured than first suspected.
Color me intrigued! This kind of “newly added” material in Peter Jackson’s film adaptation is not canonical, strictly speaking, within the pages of “The Hobbit.” Yet it is canon from another Tolkien book! This stuff comes from the Appendices in the hinter-lands of “The Return of the King,” and therefore the most intriguing as to how it’ll play out in the new films. Among purists it might be cause for alarm.
Let’s investigate what we know from Tolkien — keeping in mind what the Professor seemed to be confused about himself may leave us with a minor mystery. Let’s also speculate on how P.J. is going to make Rhosgobel fit into the narrative of his first HOBBIT installment.
Our little birdie was right yesterday! You can now place your order for the first official t-shirt from ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey!’ The shirts are available in four styles: Women’s Fitted, Women’s Relaxed, Youth and Adult. Jump on over to WBShop.com right now to place your order and show your Hobbit pride! [Order Here] (http://bit.ly/hobbitshirt)
The results are in! After many weeks of intense competition we can finally crown a winner! In the end, Samwise Gamgee, a sturdy and faithful Hobbit from The Shire takes the prize in our first annual Middle-earth March Madness!
Sam defeated his worthy opponent Aragorn with 65% of the votes!
We’d like to thank you all for participating in this year’s event, and look forward to next year’s competition in which we will institute a few of the changes that you have suggested in comments/facebook posts, etc. For a review of each round, click on the following links: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Final Four , Championship
TORn message board member Beutlin alerts us to a German film website Moviepilot.de that has recently posted a video showcasing Hobbiton and a couple of WETA artists working on The Hobbit.
Most of the video is in German, but much of the relevant bits (from 07:10 through to around 13:00) are spoken in English by New Zealanders.
The topic is already being discussed on our message boards, and anyone willing to send in an English translation of the relevant bits is most welcome to do so.
UPDATE: TORn message board member mona2505 has obliged us with an English transcript of the video. The same can be found here.
The folks over at Huffington Post have created a poll asking readers to let them know which movie universe they’d most want to live in. They’ve included The Hobbit (gets my vote!), Star Wars, Star Trek, and Harry Potter, and are also asking readers to send in suggestions; H.R. Giger’s ‘Alien’ universe, anyone? See the entire list or add your own choice here.
2012 will be a watermark year for the movie business but this week looks a lot like the 1990s and presented some problems for TheOneRing.net’s Film Friday. I didn’t want to watch “Titanic,” or “American Reunion,” which are likely this week’s biggest new releases. In each case, I feel like I have been there before.
Greetings all, Quickbeam here.
